Ladder supporting device

ABSTRACT

A safety device for use with ladders which are leaned at an angle to the wall of a house or the like, with their upper ends resting against a relatively narrow, horizontally extending surface, such as the outer edge of a gutter installed along the eave of a roof. The device of the invention serves to prevent slippage or other undesirable movement of the ladder when placed in such position for use. The device is constructed at one end thereof to embrace one of the side rails of the ladder, intermediate a pair of adjacent rungs near the upper end of the ladder, and is provided at its other end with means to straddle one of the spikes or similar members that are normally present for securing the roof gutter to the eave of the roof.

[ 51 Dec. 10, 1974 9/l97l Nameche 182/206 LADDER SUPPORTING DEVICEPrimary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado [57] ABSTRACT A safety device foruse with ladders which are leaned Feb. 25, 1974 [22] Filed: at an angleto the wall of a house or the like, with their upper ends restingagainst a relatively narrow, hori- [21] Appl. No.: 445,242

zontally extending surface, such as the outer edge of a gutter installedalong the cave of a roof. The device of the invention serves to preventslippage or other undesirable movement of the ladder when placed in suchposition for use. The device is constructed at one end thereof toembrace one of the side rails of the ladder, intermediate a pair ofadjacent rungs near the upper end of the ladder, and is provided at itsother end with References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS means to straddleone of the spikes or similar members that are normally present forsecuring the roof gutter to the cave of the roof.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEL 1 01974 SHEETZBFZ FI'G.5.

LADDER SUPPORTING DEVICE This invention relates to a safety device forsecuring a ladder to a house or other building structure, to prevent theladder from slipping out of desired position.

More particularly, the invention relates to a detachable safety devicefor the aforesaid purpose, designed to limit and prevent lateralslippage or similar movement of the upper end of the ladder, caused bythe normal bodily motion ofa person standing upon one of the rungs ofthe ladder when it is positioned to lean at an agle to the wall of ahouse or other building structure.

It is well recognized that when a person desiring to reach and gainaccess to an upper level of a vertical surface of a side wall or to theroof of a house or the like, as for making repairs or for otherpurposes, does so by ascending a ladder of adequate height and occupyinga standing position on a suitable one of the upper rungs of the ladder,he faces the risk of falling from the ladder, with resultant physicalinjury to himself, and perhaps to co-workers or other persons in theimmediate vicinity. This risk is even greater when the person isstanding on one of the uppermost rungs of a ladder whose upperend'extends above the cave of the roof. ln the latter event, therearward, relatively narrow surfaces of the rails of the ladder usuallyrest against a relatively, narrow, horizontally extending surface, asfor example the outer edge of the gutter installed along the eave of theroof.

The foregoing risks are not only substantial in the case of experiencedmechanics or other workmen accustomed to using a ladder in performingtheir tasks, but are greatly increased ones in the case of amateurworkmen, such as those frequently referred to as doit-yourselfers."

A number of devices have been heretofore proposed for dealing with theforegoing problem. These prior art devices have included those which areof the type designed to anchor the ladder by utilizing a suction cup, ora pointed element of the device, or a suitable device to maintainfrictional contact with the surface against which the ladder issupported in its leaning position. Other types of clamping brackets havebeen proposed. In general, these clamp the wall-engaging elements in afixed or rigid relation to the rungs or to the side rails of the ladder.Typical of heretofore proposed devices are those, shown for example, inthe patents to Taylor, US. Pat. No. l,393,922; Pack, US. Pat. No.1,502,490; and Boham, et al., US. Pat. No. 2,886,277.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device forthe purpose mentioned above, which is simple and inexpensive to produce,easy and convenient to use, and effective and highly reliable in itsoperation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of theforegoing character, which will anchor a ladder to a building wall byengagement with one or adjustable by the user of the ladder after thebracket has been mounted on the rail thereof.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a safety device asaforesaid, in the form of a bracket of the character described, andwhich allows ready adjustment of the angle which the ladder makes withrespect to the vertical.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described, so constructed that it may be used with ladderswhose side rails may be of any one of the standard or conventionaldimensions in their breadth (i.e., measurement from front edge to backedge of the rail) and thickness (i.e., measurement from one side face tothe opposite side face of the rail).

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, as well as theadvantages thereof, will be readily apparent from the more detaileddescription which follows and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the device,illustrating the manner in which it engages a rail of a ladder and alsoone of the spikes by which the roof gutter is fastened to the eave of aroof;

FIG. 2 is a view of the device in side elevation;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, looking toward one end thereof;

FIG. 4 is a view, partially in cross-section, taken longitudinally ofone of the elements thereof, along line 4 4 of FIG. 2 and looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective, illustrating another embodiment of theinvention.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the device of the presentinvention comprises a relatively elongated bracket indicated generallyby letter B, this bracket being formed at its outer end so that it willencompass either of the side rails 11 of the ladder, and at its oppositeor inner end with a means which straddles and is engaged with one of thespikes 12 normally used for securing the roof gutter, indicated at G, tothe eave of the roof. ln its preferred form, the outer end of thebracket is formed so as to be adaptable for use with ladders whose rails11 are of any of the conventional or commercially available dimensions.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bracket B comprises a short leg 13, a long leg14, a pair of bolt assemblies 34, 35 and a slip collar 17. Long leg 14is formed at one end to provide a right-angle bend 29 terminating in aforked tongue portion 30. The two tines of the fork are spaced asufficient distance apart to allow the tongue portion 30 to slide easilyover and to engage any one of the spikes 12 by which the roof gutter isattached to the eave of the roof. The lower edge of each of the tines ofthe forked portion 30 is formed with a cylindrical opening 31, theseopenings being in coaxial alignment with one another for the receptionof a cotter pin 32. The cotter pin 32 is not a full load-bearing member,but is intended to be inserted through openings 31 after the forkedportion 30 is in position around the spike 12, to serve mainly as asafety measure to prevent the forked portion 30 from slipping out ofengagement with the spike 12.

The opposite end of leg 14, and correspondingly one end of leg 13 areeach formed with a right angular flange or bent portion l5, 16, adaptedto overlap one another and to be engaged by a slip collar 17. The collar17 is preferably provided with a threaded opening 18 to receive a setscrew- '19 also passing through threaded openings in the flanges 15, 16when the latter are brought into register with one another by suitablespacing or adjusting the distance between the legs 13, 14. In lieu ofthreaded openings in the flanges 15, 16, one (or both) of the flangesmay be provided with slots extending longitudinally thereof, to receivethe set screw 19 at variable positions along the length of the slots,depending upon the thickness of the rail 11 of the ladder on which thebracket is to be used. Since the standard or conventional thickness ofthe rails of the ladders normally is not less than one inch, and vary byincreasing increments of about l/16th inch to a total of generally oneand a quarter inches, the slot need not exceed a length of l inchfTherails of the standard, commercially available aluminum ladders vary inwidth from 7/8th of an inch in the case, for example, of a 16 foot lighthousehold extension ladder, to l l/8th inches in the case, for example,of a heavy-duty extension ladder.

As will be noted, one of the legs, as for example leg 13, has its flange16 terminating a sufficient distance short of the other leg 14, so as tofacilitate engagement of the bracket with a rail of the ladder at anydesired point along the length of the rail intermediate any pair ofadjacent rungs R. When the bracket has been thus positioned on the railso that the legs 13, 14 occupy positions adjacent the opposite sidefaces of the rail, as shown in FIG. 1, the bracket will be in relativelyfree slideable engagement with the rail.

The short leg 13 of the bracket is formed adjacent its flange 16 with acircular opening 21, suitably about l/l6 to A inch in diameter, and leg14 is formed adjacent its flange 15 with a similar opening 22, intransverse alignment with the opening 21 in leg 13. These alignedopenings 21, 22 are adapted to receive a loosely fitting bolt or pintle24, threaded over a substantial distance adjacent each of its ends orover the entire length thereof.'The leg 13 is formed adjacent its outerfree end with a similar opening 23 in transverse alignment with anopening 24 in leg 14, the aligned openings 23, 24 being adapted toreceive a second loosely fitting bolt or pintle 25, threaded as is bolt24, for the other one 35 of the pair of bolt assemblies 34, 35.

Referring to H0. 4, bolt 24 extends completely through opening 21 in leg13 and across the thickness of the rail of the ladder, and throughopening 22 in leg 14. Thus, by reason of the angular dispositions oflegs 13 and 14 with respect to flanges 15, 16 the legs 13, 14 may bespread a sufficient distance apart to enable the bracket to be placedover the side rail of a ladder. Conventional fasteners. such as wing nut36 and hexagonal threaded nut 37 are provided at the opposite ends ofbolt 24, to enable legs 13 and 14 to be drawn together, thereby clampingthe legs 13, 14 to the sidefaces of the rail of the ladder.

ln order to bias legs 13 and 14 in their spaced-apart position, therebyenabling the bracket to be freely or readily moved up and down the siderail of the ladder between a pair of adjacent rungs R, before thebracket has been clamped, a coiled wire or tension spring 38 may bepositioned between legs 13 and 14, so as to surround bolt 24. A sleeve39 is provided so as to loosely surround the tension spring 38. Sleeve39 protects spring 38 and allows the bracket to be easily slid as by arolling motion, up and down the side rail of the ladder when legs 13 and14 are not clamped to the rail. Washers 40 and 41 are provided betweenthe respective opposite ends of spring 38 and the opposed inner faces oflegs 13 and 14 to retain the spring in its position between legs 13 and14, one end of the spring being preferably fastened to one of thewashers.

The other bolt 25 is fitted similarly as is bolt 24, with a tensioningspring 38a, sleeve 39a, washers 40a, 41a, and nuts 36a, 37a.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention, in which the body of thebracket, including legs 13 and 14 and forked portion 30, are fabricatedfrom a single continuous piece of material. The embodiment of FIG. 5 hasthe advantage of being easy to fabricate, as well as eliminating some ofthe parts illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., the slip collar 17 and set screw19.

Either of the embodiments of the invention may be fabricated from metalsuch as aluminum, or from synthetic thermoplastic material havingsufficient resiliency and strength to enable legs 13 and 14 to spreadapart a sufficient distance to accomodate a variety of ladder side railthicknesses.

In operation, when the user desires to ascend the ladder and to reach alevel substantially above ground level, the bracket B is first installedin its approximately proper location on one of the side rails 11 of theladder. Most conveniently, this would normally be accomplished byplacing the ladder in a position with its rails more or-less parallel tothe ground, and inserting the bracket, before bolt assembly 35 has beenput in place, on the rail at the approximate location from the upper endof the ladder (between two rungs) judged to be correct for itsbifurcated end to reach the height of the spikes 12 when the ladder hasbeen raised or erected to its inclined position against the wall to beascended.

The position of the ladder is adjusted to enable the bifurcated end tobe engaged over the immediately adjacent spike 12, and the outer boltassembly is then inserted in its place in the other pair of alignedbearings provided in the legs 13, 14 of the bracket. The wing nuts arethen tightened when the bracket has adjusted itself to its properposition by movement of the bolt assembly 34 through rolling of thesleeve 39 along the surface of the outwardly facing edge of the rail 11.With the bracket thus positioned on the rail of the ladder and with itsbifurcated end in engagement with the spike 12, any sidewise movement ofthe ladder which may be caused by the bodily motions of a personstanding upon one of the rungs thereof will be precluded, therebypreventing the ladder from falling or from pivoting to a dangerousposition on the lower end of its rails. Insertion of cotter pin 32assures against accidental dislodging of the bifurcated portion 29 fromits engagement with the spike 12.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety device for securing a ladder in leaning position against avertical surface of the wall of a house or like structure, with theupper end of the ladder reaching above the roof gutter, said devicecomprising a relatively elongated right-angular bracket having meansadjoining one end thereof formed to encompass a side rail of the ladder,means on said bracket for clamping the same to the opposite side facesof said rail, the opposite end of the bracket being disposed in a planeextending substantially at a right angle to the elongated direction ofthe bracket, said opposite end being bifurcated so as to be capable ofstraddling one of the spikes normally used for securing the roof gutterto the eave of a roof.

2. A safety device as defined in claim 1, wherein said clamping meanscomprises a pair of spaced bolts each having their opposite ends screwthreaded, one end of each of said bolts having a head thereon and theopposite end of each thereof carrying a screw threaded wing nut.

3. A safety device as defined in claim 2, wherein one of said bolts isprovided with a coil wire tensioning spring.

4. A ladder safety bracket for attachment of a side rail of a ladder toone of the spaced spikes securing a roof gutter to an eave of a roof,said bracket comprising:

a. a first leg;

b. a second leg disposed in parallel relation to said first leg andhaving one end thereof terminating in a flange portion to form thesecond leg into an L- shape, said flange having a forked portionextend-' disposed between the opposing faces of said legs, each saidassembly comprising a coil spring and cylindrical sleeve surrounding thecoil spring, said coil spring surrounding a bolt or pintle having itsends fitted into transversely aligned openings in said legs.

5. The device as defined in claim 4, wherein said assemblies providemeans for varying the spacing between said legs. whereby to enable saiddevice to encompass ladder rails of various thicknesses between the saidlegs.

6. A ladder safety bracket for securing a rail of a ladder to one of thespikes attaching a roof gutter to the eave of the roof, said bracketcomprising:

a. A U-shaped member having one long leg and one short leg, said longleg terminating in an L-shaped flange portion, said flange portionhaving a forked portion extending downwardly therefrom for engagementwith one of said spikes; and

b. a pair of roller assemblies, each assembly having a threaded pintle,a coil surrounding said pintle, and a sleeve loosely encasing saidspring and the pintle surrounded thereby.

1. A safety device for securing a ladder in leaning position against avertical surface of the wall of a house or like structure, with theupper end of the ladder reaching above the roof gutter, said devicecomprising a relatively elongated rightangular bracket having meansadjoining one end thereof formed to encompass a side rail of the ladder,means on said bracket for clamping the same to the opposite side facesof said rail, the opposite end of the bracket being disposed in a planeextending substantially at a right angle to the elongated direction ofthe bracket, said opposite end being bifurcated so as to be capable ofstraddling one of the spikes normally used for securing the roof gutterto the eave of a roof.
 2. A safety device as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid clamping means comprises a pair of spaced bolts each having theiropposite ends screw threaded, one end of each of said bolts having ahead thereon and the opposite end of each thereof carrying a screwthreaded wing nut.
 3. A safety device as defined in claim 2, wherein oneof said bolts is provided with a coil wire tensioning spring.
 4. Aladder safety bracket for attachment of a side rail of a ladder to oneof the spaced spikes securing a roof gutter to an eave of a roof, saidbracket comprising: a. a first leg; b. a second leg disposed in parallelrelation to said first leg and having one end thereof terminating in aflange portion to form the second leg into an L-shape, said flangehaving a forked portion extending downwardly therefrom for engagementwith said spike; c. a pair of freely rotatable roller aSsemblies spacedfrom one another along the length of said legs and disposed between theopposing faces of said legs, each said assembly comprising a coil springand cylindrical sleeve surrounding the coil spring, said coil springsurrounding a bolt or pintle having its ends fitted into transverselyaligned openings in said legs.
 5. The device as defined in claim 4,wherein said assemblies provide means for varying the spacing betweensaid legs, whereby to enable said device to encompass ladder rails ofvarious thicknesses between the said legs.
 6. A ladder safety bracketfor securing a rail of a ladder to one of the spikes attaching a roofgutter to the eave of the roof, said bracket comprising: a. A U-shapedmember having one long leg and one short leg, said long leg terminatingin an L-shaped flange portion, said flange portion having a forkedportion extending downwardly therefrom for engagement with one of saidspikes; and b. a pair of roller assemblies, each assembly having athreaded pintle, a coil surrounding said pintle, and a sleeve looselyencasing said spring and the pintle surrounded thereby.